Bicknell Museum
| Museo Bicknell | |
Bicknell Museum
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| Established | 1888 |
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| Location | Bordighera, Italy |
| Coordinates | 43°46′55″N 7°40′04″E / 43.78208°N 7.66785°ECoordinates: 43°46′55″N 7°40′04″E / 43.78208°N 7.66785°E |
| Type | natural history museum |
| Collection size | Plants, flowers, fossils |
| Website | Museo Clarence Bicknell |
The Clarence Bicknell Museum is a small building almost hidden at 39 Via Romana in Bordighera. This is often referred to as its official address, but the large villa is the seat of the International Institute of Ligurian Studies. To the right of the building is the via Clarence Bicknell leading to the entrance of the gardens of the villa and of the museum. The two buildings are part of the same bloc. In 1888 Clarence Bicknell built the museum to collect, preserve and exhibit his archaeological and botanical collections.
Clarence Bicknell was the first to study systematically the images engraved on the rocks of Monte Bego“with main characteristics evident in the sorcerer”. During his explorations and research he collected notes, drawings, casts and photographs that were used to many scholars and enthusiasts. Many of his works were published in the volumes of the Linguistic Society and in French specialized magazines. Bicknell was a passionate botanist; he devoted himself to the study of the local flora and the Maritime Alps in general. His research was published in two books which became a point of reference for scholars in the field: "Flowering plants and ferns of the Riviera" (1885) “Flora of Bordighera and San Remo or a catalogue of the wild plants growing in western Liguria in the area bounded by the outer watersheds of the Arma and Nervia torrents (1896).
The fruits of his passion can be seen in the Bicknell Museum in Bordighera. Created in 1888, it was the first museum of Western Liguria. The rectangular building has an entrance protected by a portico with four Roman-inspired columns, built by the English architect Clarence Trait. The interior is inspired by the structure used in the Anglican churches, with the podium required by lecturers for their academic presentations. Both sides have a fine fireplace decorated by Bicknell with floral and animal motifs. On the fireplace on the right there is a quote by Dante "Don’t do science if you do not think you have understood", and on the left the crests of those who collaborated to the creation of the museum: Clarence Tait, Giovenale Gastaldi, Francesco Giovannelli and Bicknell.
The museum also contains Clarence Bicknell’s library where it is possible to consult some 85,000 volumes, 3,000 journals specialised in art and local history, 14,000 engravings and the famous personal collection of butterflies, known to still be one of the most prestigious in Europe.
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Wikipedia